Tricky. They're the kind of background characters you would normally want me to punt, but they play a role that I would have to assign to other priests (eg the soccer coach), and since they interact with the MCs, I'd have to name them anyway. I'm stuck with them for act 1. I'll change to two named exorcists and see how it reads.
Thanks
Dirk
Yes. Connor's under repeated attack by demonic forces. It seems like the natural thing for the Church to do. Think of them like guards in a conventional story. However, since the characters interact with them, they need names. There will also be Vatican Swiss Guards in the next act; in their case, I'll only name the senior guard.
Question about the exorcists shadowing Connor. I chose to have two so that at least one could always be on duty, even at night. Theoretically, I could name both and have them appear together from time to time. However, there's a problem with having too many priests in one scene, not to mention too many named characters, especially given that all the names are foreign. My first crack at this was to use Father Luca as both the soccer coach and exorcist. The other one was off "resting". Father Luca carried over to the hospital, guarding Connor overnight after the lightning strike. A long shift, but still reasonable. With the release of my latest chapter, I again prefer to have just one exorcist, so it's Father Luca again. However, I can't keep saying the other one is resting and never have him show up. Stands out like a sore thumb. I think I have to bite the bullet and name them both and have them both appear from time to time, even if they're never together. Readers won't remember who these guys are (bit parts), so I have to remind the reader once or twice per scene who they are (e.g. Father Luca, the exorcist, said ...). It's a limited problem since I will ditch both of them at the end of this act. The Holy Land guide (also a priest) will conveniently also have exorcism training.
Reasonable?
Dirk
Heretic. :-)
You're not being a dick. After I post a chapter, I then spend a couple of weeks reciprocating and tweaking what I have up. As for who founded the Church, it was definitely Jesus. In the Gospels, he addresses Peter (a name that also means rock), and tells him that "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." (Matt 16:18)
The chapter from hell is up. The orphans tour the Vatican. Only the tour of St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica are shown since Romano and Connor leave the tour before it's over. Technically, Connor's already seen the Sistine Chapel, but I'll probably have him revisit it in the future as a place he goes to think.
No Asimov or Arthur C. Clarke or Frederick Pohl or Ray Bradbury?
And Frank Herbert's Dune is probably older than you are. Naturally, I have a signed first edition. 
Asimov was once asked what he'd do if he was told he had only one year to live. His answer: writer faster! :-)
Thank you, Ann. That's probably as close as I can get.
Thank you, all.
Dirk
This is similar to what I'm trying to describe, only with just two people. Most notably, the woman who is third from the right has her arm loosely dangling over the right shoulder of the guy in yellow. As I mentioned above, it's friendly but not really intimate.
https://studenthut.com/articles/10-type … y-have-uni
I googled side hugs and it's different than what I have in mind. Imagine two people standing side-by-side to be photographed. One of them places his arm across the other person's shoulder, resting his hand next to the other person's neck. t's a friendly act, but not intimate. I'll see if I can find a picture.
Is there a name for when someone places an arm across your back and rests their hand on your far shoulder? It's probably blatantly obvious, but I can't remember if it has a name. (I'm not referring to someone putting their arm around both of your shoulders, which tends to be more of a sideways hug.)
Thanks
Dirk
Never mind. Found it.
How do you block someone? I deleted the original connection request but have just received another one.
I declined. I used to get such requests on Facebook from Russia all the time.
Save the Last Dance for Me
I found the ultimate resource for St. Peter's Basilica: http://stpetersbasilica.info. Full of pictures and endless info, and everything is hyperlinked. Could have saved myself over a week of research if I'd found it first. Unfortunately, it's taken two pages just to get inside Vatican City and describe the square. I'll probably have to trim the history behind the obelisk. The opening does include a brief glimpse of the Pope, though. Tentatively, I have eight stops inside the church, including Michaelangelo's Pieta and Pope John Paul II's tomb. The Sistine Chapel needs two pages. And Connor's next miracle also needs two. I want to keep the whole thing at eight pages or less. There definitely won't be room for the Vatican Museums.
Gouda
It wasn't so much fear of death, but fear of suffering. He knew he would rise in three days. Scourging was so vicious, it could be fatal, even before they got you up on the cross.
Question: should Connor show fear? It's come up a few times already, when he's faced with danger, and his reaction to date has been to pray without so much as a tremor in his voice. His faith keeps him calm when others panic, but he's less human as a result. A prime example is the prologue, where he's trying to keep demonic locusts with scorpion-like stingers at bay. The group is terrified, but he prays fearlessly. Even when his voice grows hoarse and he can't maintain the shield any longer, he simply says it's in God's hands now. Kind of makes him seem invincible, which is not necessarily the best trait for someone under constant attack.
Thoughts?
Dirk
I just read both. I prefer the existing prologue as an opening. The epilogue didn't really give me any clarity as it relates to the early chapters I read. I don't recall the second half of the prologue, where you show time repeating, but it helps. That being said, the prologue introduces too many "names" (not just characters) too quickly, so it's hard to puzzle out what you're trying to say. If you're going for a "Huh?", then you've succeeded. However, confusion doesn't draw me into a story. I put Dune down at least three times when trying to read it as a kid. Once I saw the movie, bad as it was, I tore through the book at warp speed, even though I didn't understand it all. To this day, I still don't understand some of Frank Herbert's musings in God Emperor of Dune.
Temple, you're missing a period after "reader".
There's an error after species. :-)
I would if my health allowed (the Holy Land even more so). I just (re)discovered I own a large encyclopedia-style book of the Vatican, with tons of color photographs. Now I just have to whittle everything down to a few key elements and hope I can make them sound interesting. Fortunately, Connor's little buddy, Damiano, doesn't know much about Catholicism (I know the feeling), so he gets to ask all the newbie questions. I'm still trying to squeeze in an appearance by the Pope (he was supposed to lead the Papal Mass). I may have him appear at the window of the Apostolic Palace above St. Peter's Square, before the group goes inside the basilica.
Well, the tourist guide is decent enough, albeit with almost no pictures of what the author is describing. Apparently it never occurred to him (a tour guide) to snap a few pictures. Duh. It contains maps of layouts, though, which is good for orienting. I can probably get the pictures I want online so I can describe what I need. Found a good video tour (alas, soundless) of St. Peter's, too.
Well, the Papal Mass is out. Not enough material online to do it justice. However, I did stumble on what I hope is a really good tourist guide for the Vatican, including St. Peter's Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museum. Throw in another miracle by Connor, and I should be good to go.
